There isn't enough context to hazard a guess at stay or go.
I would like to call out deleting the unit tests as a very funny way to deal with code generators breaking the product.
Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
11–20 of 99 posts
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#12Is it worth leaving? Hard to say for your specific situation, there's thousands of variables that no one here will ever know. Unless you are a superstar or independently wealthy, it's typically a bad idea to leave a job before you have something else lined up.
Is it worth looking? Absolutely! It will be much easier to make a decision when you're comparing your current position to a job offer, rather than comparing your current position to an unknown. I would also add, no matter what you feel about your current job, it's always a good idea to keep feelers out there for new positions. The fastest way up the rank and salary ladders is moving to new positions. It will always outpace internal promotions.
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#13I’d stay and actually try the vibe coding, but if it’s not working, only a bit.
For example, try deleting one failing unit test and re-generate it with Claude. Then if it turns out mostly worthless, scrap it and restore the original test. Maybe the entire test is correct (and easy to verify), maybe you can take pieces from it, maybe it’s unsalvageable; if it doesn’t save time, write tests manually from then on until the next major AI improvement.
Worst case, CEO fires you for not vibe-coding enough. Best case, you find a way for them to make your life easier. My prediction (based on some but not much experience) is that you spend only a small amount of time trying the AI tools, occasionally they impress you, usually they fail, but even then it’s interesting and fun to see what they do.
EDIT: as for dealing with the spaghetti when others use AI; wait for that to become a problem before quitting over it. And of course you can look for opportunities now.
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#14I'm a senior engineer with 20+ (oof) years of industry experience. I appreciate that this sucks and you don't want to do it. I wouldn't either. That said, it's a hirer's market out there right now. There will be plenty of people who will be happy to take your position while you're looking for something you prefer.
My opinion is that we're going to have about 5 years of this. Managers and C-suite folks are going to do their absolute darnedest to replace and supplement people with AI tools before they figure out it's not going to work. While I appreciate the differences, I remember seeing this ~6-7 years ago with blockchain at my last role. It'll work itself out. In the mean time, you get to contribute to the situation, instead of simply not being present. It's not going to be fun of course.
I don't think we're ever going back from this. There's an entire generation of new coders, and new managers who are growing up with this stuff. It's part of their experience, and suggesting they not use it is going to be akin to asking if you can use a typewriter instead of a computer with a word processor. Some companies will take longer to adopt, but it's coming...
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#15Good luck finding a place that isn't pushing devs to heavily use AI. And even if you find somewhere that's not doing it right now, it may just mean their management is far behind the curve and they will have a similar push soon.
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#16Look for a new job but be amendable to your current one. If they want you to "vibe code" then do it and look for another job on the side. Get in touch with your network and see if anyone is hiring with reasonable coding practices. My company bought everyone a Claude subscription but they trust us to use it where reasonable.
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#17Don't leave your job. Unless you've looked for jobs recently you have no idea how bad the current job market is. You also need to adapt to AI. Obviously, clueless people are going to misuse it. But let them learn the hard way. I've found that in organizations where the higher ups are incompetent if you try to signal the problem you become the problem. Then you're viewed as "being hard to work with" rather than trying to prevent a tragedy. Keep your job lad.
If you do get another offer remember that there's always a risk when you change jobs. I.E. how stable is that companies funding? Will they want to do layoffs, too? Are their investors pressuring them to make cuts? Because if you're a new hire you can say good bye to that job. We don't have formal tenure in tech but there's still a human cost to firing people who have been long-time with a company. The decision makers have less attachment to a new hire so its easier to fire them in that respect (and how many decisions with fires are just arbitrary, number-based, bad luck.)
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#18The market is not easy right now. I would not leave unless you have something definite lined up. > 1. Be pushed into a workflow that will cause my technical growth to stall or degrade Whether your growth stalls or degrades is up to you, but in my country your employer's ability to tell how you how to produce/deliver the work (not just the outcome desired) is the difference between being an employee and contractor You…
But also don’t give up your principles and use AI stuff if you’re against it. Hiring people who haven’t used it will be a marketable skill too
>"Hiring people who haven’t used it will be a marketable skill too".
Can you explain your thinking on this?
Obviously there will be jobs where AI isn't required, so omission of experience would be fine, but I can't think of any reason why it would be marketable to advertise "I've never worked with AI".
In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a resume that contains anything along the lines of "I haven't used X". You would just omit the lack of experience. Otherwise it risks signaling other negatives (not comfortable with change, etc.).
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
But also don’t give up your principles and use AI stuff if you’re against it. Hiring people who haven’t used it will be a marketable skill too
I think it is easy to give that advice if you are somehow shielded from the reality of the market right now. Which companies can you point to with openings on their careers page that specifically mention "no AI" or don't mention AI as part of the toolchain/expectations?
You are 100% correct. And I can't understand why some company would want someone who never used AI. What's the advantage? Honestly, it sounds like wishful thinking.
Re: Ask HN: Worth leaving position over push to adopt vibe coding?
#20It's the same elsewhere. Some places are actually using it as a way to get rid of people 'resistant to change'. It also remains to be seen what technical skills we need 5 years from now. I did memory management and pointers 15 years ago and I can still do them now.
What I'd suggest is adapt to it, find ways to push back. Obviously things like "delete entire unit test file & have claude generate a new one" is a bad idea. I've seen claude "monkey patching" a system so that it returns true to the tests.
This issue is going to pop up in the future. Experiment with it on the company's dime even if you've checked out emotionally. You are still doing your job - improving code quality and making sure things run.
The new approach seems to be doing TDD. One, as an engineer, you'll know when AI is bullshitting you with mocks. Even when mocks are BS, you can still test the thing they're meant to represent. 2) AI spits more code than anyone can review. The red, green, refactor approach is one way to keep them on the rails.